The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which rose to 4,736.5 in early trades, is
currently down 2.8 points at 4,714.5. The broader All Ordinaries index is down
3.2 points t 4,734.9, more than 20 points off the day's high of 4,756.2.

Among top miners, BHP Billiton (BHP, BBL) and Newcrest Mining are up marginally,
while Rio Tinto (RIO, RIO.L) and Fortescue Metals are down 1.3 percent and 1.2
percent, respectively.

In the banking space, ANZ Bank (ANZ) and National Australia Bank are trading
flat, Commonwealth Bank of Australia is trading lower by over 1 percent and
Westpac is trading in positive territory with a gain of about 0.6 percent.
Bendigo & Adelaide Bank is up 0.7 percent and Bank of Queensland is trading 0.3
percent down.

In economic news, Australia saw a seasonally-adjusted merchandise trade deficit
of A$2.64 billion in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.
That missed forecasts for a shortfall of A$2.30 billion following the downwardly
revised deficit of A$2.443 billion in October, originally A$2.088 billion.

Exports were up 1.0 percent on month to A$24.68 billion, while imports climbed
2.0 percent to A$27.32 billion.

Meanwhile, an index measuring construction activity in Australia came in with a
score of 38.8 in December, the Australian Industry Group said. That's up from
37.0 in November, but it remains significantly below the boom-or-bust level of
50 that separates expansion from contraction. In all, the index has climbed
higher in each of the last three months.

Among the individual components of the survey, commercial construction activity
fell at the slowest pace in two years, while the decline in engineering
construction also slowed.

The Japanese stock market opened lower, with investors tracking cues from Wall
Street where stocks ended lower overnight. Profit taking after recent gains and
the yen's surge against the U.S. dollar too contributed to the weak start.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar was trading in the lower 87 yen range in
early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 87.40 to the dollar.

Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taiwan
are trading notably lower. Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea are down with
modest losses, while Indonesia and New Zealand are bucking the trend and trading
marginally higher.

On Wall Street, stocks mostly ended lower on Monday, as traders cashed in on the
recent strength in the markets. The major averages ended the day in negative
territory, but well off their lows for the session.

The Dow declined 50.9 points or 0.4 percent to 13,384.3, the Nasdaq edged down
2.8 points or 0.1 percent to 3,098.8 and the S&P 500 dipped 4.6 points or 0.3
percent to 1,461.9.

Major European markets too closed weak on Monday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index
ended down 0.4 percent, while the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 index
lost 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

U.S. crude oil ended higher on Monday as the dollar weakened. Supporting crude
prices were the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly oil report last
week which showed a huge decline in crude oil inventories.

Crude for February delivery moved up $0.10 or 0.1 percent to close at $93.19 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.